Colours In The Air
by creddierocks
Summary: Everything's going downhill for Sam. Little does she know neither Carly nor Freddie is having the easiest time either. Shipping-purposefully open-ended.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm back in Liverpool  
><em>_And everything seems the same  
><em>_But I worked out something last night  
><em>_That changed this little boy's brain  
><em>_A small piece of advice  
><em>_That took twenty-two years in the make  
><em>_And I will break it for you now  
><em>_Please learn from my mistakes  
><em>_Please learn from my mistakes_

The books laid scattered across the table, bendy reading light askew with the bulb smashed, papers lying about with hundreds of words written in Sam Puckett's messy scrawl. On the desk sat a picture-a glossy framed photograph, easily the most expensive thing in the room. A reminder of happier days.

Sam stared at the picture. It was from just a few short months back. Carly, Sam, Freddie, and Gibby, the four hosts of the hit webshow iCarly. Smiling into the camera, the four teens seemed to have no care in the world. The car crash would come later. Resting her head on her hands, Sam closed her eyes, trying to repress the memories flooding to the surface. She didn't have to remind herself that it was all her fault Gibby and Tasha were dead. That she was just that stupid to let her mother drive. Gripping tighter onto her pen, the black-haired girl dug her feet into the ground, trying to breathe deeply. In, out. In, out. There, she was starting to feel more calm already.

**"Hey, Sam? Dinner." **Melanie's melodious tones rang through the apartment, assaulting Sam's ears. She kicked out, wheeling the chair backwards-how Sam loved swivel chairs with wheels on them, though they caused her to lose a lot of studying time-standing straight up, and walking briskly over to the living room where her twin stood with a couple bags of McDonalds.

**"Same as usual?" **Sam asked, taking one of the bags and glancing within as Melaine nodded-unnessecarily, seeing as Sam'd noticed. Eating fast food three or four times a week certainly wasn't all that healthy for them, but with neither sister having the least cooking skills and their last remaining guardian serving a life sentence it was required.

Melaine started to organize the meals on the table, taking Sam's bag back. **"I thought we could eat in the living room today." **she said hesitantly, running a finger through Sam's messy shoulder-length hair disapprovingly. **"You know, like Carly and Freddie do. Like a lot of people do. For that matter, you going over to Carly's?"**

Sam shook her head quickly. She didn't want to visit her today.

Melaine got the hint. **"Alright then." **she replied, dragging a couple of chairs back and gesturing for Sam to sit down. Sam obeyed, glaring up at her twin. Damnit, she wasn't a retard-she knew to do this sort of thing.**"Well...let's eat."**


	2. Chapter 2

A pale, bony hand reached out and twisted the shower tap. Nearly icy water sprayed out, causing Sam to stand back, trying not to be attacked by it. Showering was seen as an annoyance by her at the best of times, but Melaine had pressured her into it.

**"You'll feel better afterwards," **she had said **"and you won't be all grungy." **Right now, Sam was of the viewpoint that it was just making things much, much worse. It was only just forty-five degrees Fahrenheit out there, and cold was not the nicest of things in such a temperature. Even when she turned the hot tap up, it did nothing, unless she turned it far enough to feel like she was being engulfed in flames.

Stepping out after sitting in there a minute boredly, Sam wrapped a towel around herself and walked out into the loungeroom. **"Alright, I'm done with that. You got a brush?"**

Melaine glanced up from her soap opera and took the spare comb she saved for Sam, handing it over.

Returning to the bedroom to brush her hair, Sam dressed in a pair of sweats and slippers, glancing in her mirror. Sam, in the time since the accident in July, had mostly fell into disarray. Home-dyed black hair, cut slightly above her shoulders using a pair of wavy scissors, clung damply to her neck. Pale skin hung almost loosely off her skeletal frame, her having lost the will to even eat her ham and bacon for a while, and sunken eyes gazed ruefully back out at her. Hole-ridden grey sweats getting far too small 'adorned' her body, and the fuzzy pink rabbit slippers Melaine had bought for her in an attempt to aid her recovery were now missing the eyes, looking quite creepy.

It was the first time in a long time Sam knew what she looked like, and just why Carly was getting uncomfortable around her. If your formerly strong friend looked like a corpse...

She grabbed the mobile off her desk and slumped down on the bed, finding the name in her contacts.

**"Carly, you need to come down here."**


End file.
